2021 Summer Marketing Forum

STRONGER TOGETHER:  THE PATH FORWARD                      U.S. Textile & Apparel Industry Strengthens Through Sustainability, Innovation, Reinvention

Register Now!

The Southern Textile Association is pleased to announce its plans for the Summer Marketing Forum being held Tuesday, August 31 - Wednesday, September 1 at the Textile Technology Center, Kimbrell Campus in Belmont, NC. The Meet & Greet will be held on Tuesday evening at TechWorks in Belmont from 6:00 - 8:00 PM.  The Forum will be held on Wednesday from 9:00 AM ending with lunch at 1:00 PM.  You can attend in-person or virtually.  I hope you will plan to participate.   Please note that we will be observing all North Carolina COVID regulations and social distancing.  Mask will be required for in-person attendance.

Moderator: 

Jim Booterbaugh, Chief Executive Officer 
National Spinning Company
STA Past President

Presentations:

"Shifting Gears" Contempora's Pandemic Response          
Ron Roach, President
Contempora Fabrics

Ron Roach graduated from The Ohio State University in 1983 with a B.S. in Business and Marketing.  He joined Contempora Fabrics in 1985 as Vice President of Sales.  In 2012 he became President of the company.  Currently Ron serves on the Board of Directors of AAPN, Vice President of Seams, and is Vice Chairman of UNC Health Southeastern Foundation.

Building a Culture of Innovation for Growth
Paige Mullis, Brand Director   
Glen Raven, Inc.

With responsibilities including brand development, innovation and community, Paige is founder of Glen Raven's innovation program, Glen Raven 3.0, The Concept Gallery, Studio and Lab, all resources for activating the next great idea.  By bringing people, cultures and new ideas together she has lead development of an innovation ecosystem that seeds new business opportunities and enhances Glen Raven's brand value and partner engagement.  This tool box is used to elevate idea flow and enhance and develop Glen Raven's inventive culture worldwide. Paige is also a design thinking practitioner, and on-going innovation curator and is currently serving as Vice Chair of the Advanced Textiles Products division of IFAI.  She is a strong advocate for the arts as a cornerstone to economic growth as served several years on the board of trustees for Greensboro Ballet in North Carolina.  She's an explorer and adventurer in life which she shares with her husband, three daughters and dogs Louie and Charlie.

The Consumer After the Vaccines?                 Ged King, Chief Executive Officer
Sales Factory

Sales Factory is a brand growth company employing 70 consultants in Raleigh, NC and in Greenboro, NC.  Under Ged's leadership, Sales Factory has appeared on the Inc. 500/5000 list in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020 for being one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States.  During his time at Sales Factory, Ged has worked on great brands such as GE, Walmart, Burt's Bees, DeWalt, Fruit of the Loom, and Estee Lauder. Before leading Sales Factory, Ged held positions in sales and in marketing at Swing-N-Slide.  While at Swing-N-Slide, he helped the company grow over 950% and go public on NASDAQ.  He also worked seven years in store operations at Kroger.  At Kroger, he learned the retail business from the consumer at the store level. Ged holds a B.S. in industrial Engineering from N.C. State University.  He is an Adjunct Professor of Practice in the School of Business at Wake Forest University where he teaches Consumer Behavior, Brand Management, Product Development, and Marketing Research.  He is also on the faculty of the Path to Purchase Institute.  When not working or spending time with his wife and two children, Ged is an avid cyclist, a commercial pilot, and an instructor.

On the Economic, Business & Political Climate
Roger Tutterow, Ph.D, Professor of Economics
Kennesaw State University

Roger Tutterow is Professor of Economics at Kennesaw State University where he holds the Henssler Financial Endowed Chair.  In addition, he serves as Director of the Econometric Center, an applied research center housed in KSU's Coles College of Business.  A Georgia native, Dr. Tutterow holds a B.B. in Decision Science from Berry College and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University.  Prior to joining Kennesaw State University, Dr. Tutterow held faculty and administrative appointments at West Virginia University, Georgia State University and Mercer University.  He has also served as a visiting professor at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and at the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies in Seoul, South Korea.  

Carolina Textile District: The Three P's 
Sara Chester, Executive Co-Director 
The Industrial Commons

After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill she returned to her hometown of Morganton, NC.  She worked for eight years at Burke Development, Inc., focusing much of this time on place-based initiatives that grow local wealth.  There she earned an IEDC  award for Innovative Economic Development.  She serves on the Burke County Planning Board and is part of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Rural Center.  She spends most of her time with her husband and two kids.  She loves to hike, camp, bake, and read.

The New Wave of Sustainability: Increasing 
 Consumer Expectations and Transparency
Liz Lipton-McCombie, Director, Global Sustainability
Levi Strauss & Company

Liz's work focuses on sustainable products, circularity, sustainability innovation and consumer engagement.  Working in sustainability and corporate responsibility for more than 15 years, in the UK and US, Liz has worked with consumer goods and tech companies to develop strategies that enable business growth and positive impact through responsible sourcing, environmental sustainability and community investment.